Maybe it was the government’s actions that spooked them. Perhaps the rigs were not able to mine as efficiently anymore. Whatever the reason, we are seeing an influx of mining equipment hitting the second hand shelves in China.
This is evidenced by the number of listings that have been showing up on second hand sites. These rigs were the type that were typically used for the mining of various Altcoins with only a few Bitcoin ASICs going on the market.
Why the Yard Sale?
This is indeed quite an interesting development. Usually, people will pawn their mining equipment if it is not profitable to mine for coins anymore. They may find that electricity costs are too high or the price of the coins are too low. However, China has some of the lowest electricity costs in the world. We are also seeing the price of many coins break all-time highs.
Therefore, the only remaining culprit is probably the movement by the Chinese government recently. Not only did they ban ICOs but they also came out and closed a number of Chinese Bitcoin exchanges. This would mean that home miners would find it hard to liquidate their coins. Moreover, there were also a number of rumours swirling around that China may also look to ban mining.
Rumours Feeding the Frenzy
Although many have claimed that the notion that China would close down mining in the country were mere rumours. Indeed, there are also many who even wonder how they could do this. With an increasingly interconnected world, how would the Chinese authorities be able to single out someone who is mining?
What could look more likely is that the Chinese government wants to get involved in the mining themselves. This would mean a powerful competitor for small scale miners who cannot compete against large industrial scale operations.
GPU Mining Difficulties
Whether these rigs will find buyers remains to be seen as there are a number of these bulk auctions which are on the go. The reason for this is the difficulties that come with mining using with a GPU. They tend to degrade much quicker the mining specific ASICs. If the miners want to be able to sell the hardware, they have to do it when it is still in a semi working condition.
As the regulations around mining, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general remains in flux, we are likely to continue seeing more and more listings. People have to be able to plan for their investments and uncertainty is never helpful. However, if the Chinese do decide to come out with some more favourable regulations then those who invested in second hand rigs could be well poised to mine the rebound.
Featured Image via Fotolia
